A Look Back in Time


Transylvania County ? The early days
Long before Transylvania County was made official, the white man and the Cherokee Indians occupied this rich, fertile land. From lush green valleys, to densely forested mountains, to the headwaters of the French Broad River (which flows south to north), this area of western North Carolina offered abundant possibilities to all who knew it. By the early 1800?s rugged and practical descendants of the Scot-Irish began finding their way here from upstate South Carolina. Today, much of what we enjoy as forestland was originally farmland used by these early settlers. But before the white man discovered the area, it was home to the Cherokee Indians who followed the paths carved out by buffalo as they hunted wild game, and traded their furs and skins for English made goods at trading posts, including the village of Eastatoe (1) in present Pickens County, South Carolina.

"Eastatoe" was an Indian princess who drowned herself in the Toe River when her kin killed her lover. But little is known about this trading path, sometimes called ?Eastatoe Path", how it came into existence or how many years the Indians used it before the area was colonized. Early settlers referred to it as ?The Indian Path? or simply ?The Path.? What is known, though, is that the Cherokee's annual hunting expedition carried them along this ancient course that wove through the Davidson River area, through the site of Brevard, the Cherryfields, and crossed at the French Broad river at the present day Rosman. From the French Broad crossing, the path led to the area now known as Indian Camp Mountain, continuing south to Eastatoe, Toxaway (2), and Keowee. The Cherokees lived relatively peacefully with the earliest white settlers until 1839 when they were seen as a deterrent to the growth and settlement of the white man. Nearly half were wiped out by small pox and many were displaced. In the years that followed, the influx of settlers into the French Broad area grew at a rapid pace.

In the early days of Transylvania County, there were very few roads and the only transportation available was by horse and ox drawn wagons. In 1895, though, the railroad rumbled into Transylvania from Hendersonville. Five years later, the first bonds ever issued in Transylvania County served to assist in continuing construction of the railroad to connect Brevard to the incorporated area of Jeptha (considered to be the forerunner of Rosman).

Within the year, Joseph S. Silversteen had established a successful tannery business in the area and commerce was booming. About the same time, J.F. Hays was organizing the Toxaway Company and began buying land in the Hogback Valley, including the Toxaway River basin, as part of his plan to create a string of resorts targeting wealthy visitors searching for relief from the summer heat.

Tracks were laid to extend the railroad west to Hogback Valley where Hays eventually developed the Lake Toxaway Hotel in Transylvania County, and the Sapphire and Fairfield Hotels in Jackson County. From there, work began to contain the headwaters of the Toxaway River and build a first class resort on the eastern shore of the new lake. By the end of the century, the resorts became popular destinations for wealthy visitors and construction of the railroad proved to be an integral part of Hays plan. In 1903 the final leg of the track was completed and the name Lake Toxaway became synonymous with the destination for the wealthy upper class. Coincidentally, when the railroad first came to Jeptha, it was Hays who built the new depot, which he then renamed Toxaway. A new post office was immediately established with the same name. It wasn?t long before the original post office of Jeptha was closed and the area was officially known as Toxaway. But, by the end of the century, as the resort area of Lake Toxaway continued to flourish, it no longer made sense to have two destinations with the same name and much to the dismay of its citizens, the small town at the foot of the mountain was asked to change its name. It was Silversteen who exercised his considerable influence on the townspeople to adopt a new name for their city. The name Rosman was derived from the surnames of two of Silversteen's associates, Joseph Rosenthal and Morris Omonsky. On July 18, 1904 the post office was changed to Rosman and the following year, the North Carolina General Assembly officially changed the name from Toxaway to Rosman.
For many years, neighboring Brevard grew slowly, overshadowed by the activity of Rosman.

Brevard

Long before Brevard became a city it was home to the Cherokee Indians. Between 1550 and 1838, the Cherokees occupied 40,000 square miles in this area of western North Carolina.

As the European settlers began to find the area, it was the Cherokee nation that suffered the most. France first laid claim to the land that became Brevard, giving the French Broad River its name. Then, in 1763, the French occupation gave way to England who controlled the area until the end of the American Revolution. It was a small pox outbreak in 1793, however, that wiped out nearly half of the Cherokee population. By the end of the American Revolution, they owned less than half of their original land. Brevard was considered Cherokee territory until 1785.

It was February 15, 1861 when Transylvania separated from Henderson and Jackson Counties and became an official county by an act of the North Carolina Legislature. Joseph P. Jordan introduced the bill to the North Carolina House of Commons that would create the new county of Transylvania as well as provide for a new town that would eventually serve as the county seat. The name he chose for the county, Transylvania, derives from the Latin word ?trans? for ?across? and ?sylvan? for ?woods? and could not have been more aptly chosen for the area. This year also marked the beginning of the Civil War and it would be years later before the area was laid out and incorporated.

The first official meeting of the Transylvania County court was held on May 20, 1861 at ?the Valley Store.? By coincidence, this was the same day North Carolina seceded from the Union. Alex F. England, Leander S. Gash, and Braxton C. Lankford jointly donated 50 acres for a town site that became what is now the city of Brevard. The name ?Brevard? was chosen as a tribute to Ephriam Brevard, a colonel and surgeon in the Revolutionary Army.

When the county seat was selected the town fathers began laying out streets, reserving space for public buildings, and churches. Even though Brevard was not the site for any battles, the Civil War all but halted the growth of Brevard. By 1867 only a few small house dotted the landscape in the city limits of Brevard and the population amounted to only 50 people and only seven were registered voters. It wasn?t until after the Civil War ended that Brevard began to come into its own.

The biggest impact on the development of Brevard occurred in 1895 when the railroad line was extended from Hendersonville to Brevard.  It would eventually be the city?s lifeline to the outside world. From that point on, as the roads and bridges improved, businesses and the population of the small town also grew.

Today, nearly 30,000 people call Transylvania County home.  In the city of Brevard, the population has grown to nearly 7,000 and Rosman is now 571.
 

Col. Ephriam Brevard, MD
Ephriam Brevard was born in 1744. He studied medicine at Princeton College and was considered ?socially prominent.? At the time of the Revolutionary War, he gained a degree of prominence as a patriot and was esteemed for drafting the Mecklenburg Declaration. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is said to be the first Declaration of Independence made in America during the American Revolution. While it was a supposedly written at Charlotte, North Carolina, by the Committee of citizens of Mecklenburg County on May 20, 1775, no original text exists. However, the early government of North Carolina was persuaded that the Mecklenburg Declaration was authentic and maintained that North Carolinians were the first Americans to declare independence from Britain. To this day, the North Carolina seal and the State flag bear May 20, 1775 as the date of the state's own  "declaration of independence."

Brevard joined the Revolutionary War and the fight for independence when the British invaded the South. He was taken prisoner at the surrender of Charleston and was among the prisoners who became severely ill from afflictions common in the day such as dysentery. It is reported that Andrew Jackson?s mother tended to Brevard during his time as a prisoner. Despite special medicines and treatment, Brevard never recovered from his illness. He died in 1781, about the time the hostile force march onto his native soil, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Hopewell.

A monument in front of Brevard City Hall was erected by his family to honor Ephriam Brevard and states that this hero, scholar, and patriot ?Fought bravely and died a martyr to that liberty which none loved better and few understood so well.?

(1) Eastatoe was the Indian name for the beautiful green Carolina parakeet, now extinct, which inhabited the Carolinas during early colonial times.

(2)    Toxaway is an Anglicized form of the Cherokee word for the red bird, or cardinal.


Sources:
Brevard Chamber of Commerce
Marjorie Rose Owen
The Heritage of Transylvania County, Vol. 2, 2008